Second Soul
by Chris Star
Summary: Twins Mayuka (female) and Itsuki (male) Tachibana have found themseles trapped in the lost village. With her brother nowhere in sight, Mayuka must unravel the dark history of Yuki (male) and Yohko (female) Kurosawa...and of her own lineage.
1. Default Chapter

Twins Mayuka (female) and Itsuki (male) Tachibana have found themseles trapped in the lost village. With her brother nowhere in sight, Mayuka must unravel the dark history of Yuki (male) and Yohko (female) Kurosawa...and of her own lineage.

Main Characters:

Name:Mayuka Tachibana

Age:16

Height:5'5"

Hair:Dark brown to her mid-back, held loose

Eyes:Golden brown

Family:mother;Mio Amakura/Tachibana(deceased)

Father;Itsuki Tachibana(missing)

Aunt;Mayu Amakura (deceased)

Brother;Itsuki Tachibana the 2nd

Name:Itsuki Tachibana

Age:16

Height:6'1"

Hair:Black, cut short

Eyes:Deep blue

Family:mother;Mio Amakura/Tachibana(deceased)

Father;Itsuki Tachibana (missing)

Aunt;Mayu Amakura(deceased)

Sister;Mayuka Tachibana

Name:Yohko Kurosawa

Age:unknown

Height:about 5'2" or so

Hair:Golden brown to her shoulders

Eyes:Green

Family:mother;Sakashita Kiryu/Kurosawa

father;Inozuki Kurosawa

brother;Yuki Kurosawa

Name:Yuki Kurosawa

Age:unknown

Height:about 5'8" or so

Hair:Dark brown, cut short

Eyes:Brown

Family:mother;Sakashita Kiryu/Kurosawa

father;Inozuki Kurosawa

sister;Yohko Kurosawa


	2. Chapter One:Crimson Butterfly

"Mayuka," grunted Itsuki, limping into his sister's bedroom. She looked up from her manga at him, her golden eyes twinkling.

"What's wrong, Itsuki-kun?"

He sighed. "Hontou-ni moshiwaka-gozaimasen." (I'm really sorry)

Mayuka was confused. "Nani?" (what?)

Niisan…"(sister) murmured the crippled boy, holding his hand out. "Don't leave me again."

Mayuka lowered her eyes, lost in a memory of her childhood…

_"Itsuki!" Little Mayuka called up into the tree her brother was climbing. "Get down! Ouka-san (mom) is gonna yell at you!"_

_"It's alright," the sweat-soaked little boy smiled down at his twin. "I can make…"_

_Just then, his foot slipped from the branch it was resting on. He fell, screaming, to the ground, and then lay silent. Mayuka look at him, then took off screaming._

Mayuka looked up to see her brother hobbling out of her room.

"Itsuki-kun! Matte!" (wait)

He didn't listen, and she stood and followed him out into the backyard. She tripped over the picnic table, and pulled herself up in time to see her brother follow a crimson butterfly into the woods.

"Itsuki-kun! Iie! Matte!" (Itsuki! No! Wait!)screamed Mayuka, running after him.

The moment she entered the woods, the warm afternoon sunlight faded into cold darkness. She gasped and halted at the sudden drop in temperature, then noticed Itsuki ahead of her.

"Itsuki-kun!" she cried, running after him. As she ran, his figure was momentarily overlaid by an image of a dark-brown-haired boy in a white uchikake (formal kimono). The image faded back into Itsuki after only a moment, and Mayuka convinced herself she'd been seeing things. Then, when she grabbed her brother's shoulder, she saw it again. The boy turned to her, and Mayuka's vision was consumed by an image of a golden-brown-haired girl in a white yukata (cotton kimono, usually worn in spring and summer) screaming in agony as several men carrying poles and sickles grabbed onto her.

Mayuka gasped as the image faded. She was alone, her brother nowhere in sight. She looked at her hands, then gasped in horror as she saw two crimson marks in the shape pf butterflies branded into her palms.

"Itsuki…"she whispered. "ITSUKI!"

Chris: Yay! I finished the first official chapter! Mayuka takes kinda after her mom, with a strong urge to protect her brother.


	3. Chapter Two:The Search Begins

Chris: Okay! Chapter Two, here we come! Erm... For the most part, this will be a lot like the original Crimson Butterfly. But later, I'm gonna have some really neat-o plot twists!

Mayuka took several deep, steadying breaths.

"Niisan,"a light voice whispered around her. She gasped. "Ni (two) chosen ko (children) shall be carried to ten (heaven) on the wings of a chou (butterfly). The chou that will save this village. Koish te. (kill me)"

She felt a pair of arms envelop her, but could see no one.

"My aya niisan (beautiful sister). Whatever happens... I will forgive you."

Mayuka shuddered, then fainted forward.

When Mayuka opened her eyes, she was laying atop a slab of rock, surrounded by five talon-like rocks connected by sacred ropes. All around, she saw lit torches glowing in the night. She realized she was atop a hill, with a shinto gate at one side, and paths at two others.

"Is Itsuki-kun here?'she wondered aloud, sitting up. She ducked out from under the ropes and made ehr way slowly down the path to her right. After walking for a while, she came across a small backpack. It looke like a child's;bright pink, with the head and paws of a white rabbit. Curious, Mayuka looked inside. The first thing she pulled out was a pink pen with the name 'Mika' carved into the clip. Also she found a black journal, an empty photo album, a flashlight, and a small, bunny-print diary. Mayuka clicked on the flashlight and read the diary's single entry.

Rabbit Diary 1

_Sis told me not to go there. But I'm scared. She hasn't been back for two weeks. could something have happened whle she was researching her report? I have to go to the Lost Village. I have to see Sis..._

"Sloppy hand writing,"murmured Mayuka. "Must be a kid's. I wonder who else is here?"

Standing up and throwing the bag over her shoulder, she continued slowly down the path. The darkness was thick, almost suffocating. But she continued on. No matter what happened, she had to find Itsuki. She'd promised. Together forever...

After another minute or two, she came upon two old housese across from eachother. The one to her right was nothing more than a barely standing wooden frame. The one on her left, though a bit beaten up, was still intact.

"I wonder if anyone's here,"she murmured, prying he door open. She found herself in a tiny entrance hall. To her left was a lattice window, through which she could see a small room with kimonos hanging. About six paces ahead of her was another door, which she pushed open. The door creaked loudly as it resisted her weight, and she looked all around her. It was a fireplace room. Far to her left was a set of stairs, and beneath the stairs was a sliding door into another room. Ahead of her a dozen or so paces was the entrance to a hall. Without thinking, she made her way up the stairs...

One on the landing, she turned right and continued down the hall. To her left was a door, which she tried opening, only to find it was locked. She continued down the landing, until she came upon another set of stairs. She stepped carefully down them. She looked to her left, where she saw the fireplace room she had entered. The stairs were just inside the hall. She stepped once again into the fireplace room, chills running down her spine, then slid open the door under the stairs.

The room was dark. She dug around in the bunny bag again for the flashlight, then shone it around the room, then gasped.

Chris: Cliffhanger! Yay! So… hm…I wonder what she found?

Mayuka: Am I supposed to just stand here with my mouth hanging open until you decide to update?

Chris: You bet!


	4. Chapter Three:The Camera Obscura

Chris: Okay, Mayuka. You can move now.

"Itsuki-kun!"gasped Mayuka. she ran around the mosquito net and threw back the covers of the mat her brother was laying on. Kneeling dwon, she pulled him into her arms and shook his shoulder. "Itsuki-kun! Wake up!"

His eyes fluttered open, and he gazed up at his sister.

"M...Mayuka?"

"Itsuki-kun! Ah! Arigatoo, Kami-sama(thank god)!"

She hugged him close, tilting her head so her cheek rested atop his head. He moved closer, his arms encirclng her wast, his face pressed into her chest. A series of blissful sensations overtook her at the touch, at feeling his warm breath against her breasts.

"Mayuka,"he whispered into his sister's chest. "I was so scared..."

Mayuka pulled back, brushed some black hair from his eyes. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

He nodded, and held tightly to her shoulder as he stood unsteadily. Holding his elbow, Mayuka led Itsuki back into the sunken fireplace room.

"So,"she asked, maneuvering them around the fireplace and several pieces of fallen wood. "Why'd you come here?"

"Someone was calling me,"he murmured. "A boy. He was saying 'If it was to come to this, we should have done the Ritual'."

"Ritual?"murmured Mayuka, pulling at the entrance door. "Kuso (damn)!"she cursed. "It won't open!"

She turned and glanced around the room. "Maybe there's a key somewhere?"

"The family altar room,"Itsuki responded. "There was a key on the table. The room's across from the hall stairs."

Mayuka nodded and stepped into the hall, then turned left into a sort aof miniature hall across from the stairs. ON her right was a sliding door. The twins steped inside, and Mayuka immediately went to the low tabled and picked up the key her brother had mentioned.

"Sensei (teacher)?"said a voice. Mayuka gasped and looked around. Only Itsuki stood before her. "Naruhodo (Oh, I see). The Camera Obscura..."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Mayuka saw a large, old-fashioned camera on the ground. She piecked it up, and studied it curiously.

"Camera Obscura?"she murmured. There was a leather strap attached to the camera at either end, and Mayuka lopped it around her neck before turning to her brother.

"This is for the front doo. See? It has a ginger insignia on it. I saw a door upstairs with the same mark on the lock. This must be the key t othat door."

Itsuki nodded, then his eyes opened wide with horror, his body shuddering with terror.

"Itsuki-kun?"murmured Mayuka. "Itsuki-kun! What's wrong!"  
She touched his shoulder, then gasped in horror as a vissiong swan before her eyes.

Chris:Okay. I've got a real habit for writing cliffhangers, I guess. I might make Mayuka and Itsuki a couple eventually. Put in your reviews wether you think I should or not!


	5. Chapter Four:Kiss

Mayuka shuddered as she watched the brown-haired boy in the white uchikakae laugh maniacally, his uchikake stained with the blood of the bodies around him. He turned and advanced on Mayuka, who screamed and awoke from her vision, collapsing against Itsuki. Due to his bad leg, the black-haired boy fell on his back, the brown-haired girl landing on his chest. She stared down into his eyes, and he searched her face carefully.

"Mayuka,"he murmured, on hand clasping the back of her neck and leading her lips to his. She gasped, then whimpered his name as she clutched at the fabric of his leather jacket. His hand slid up to enlace her hair as his tounge slipped into her mouth, exploring her boldly.

'Stop it, Mayuka!' her inner voice screamed. 'This is Itsuki! Your little brother!' (Well, younger by about 20 minutes.)

Mayuka jerked her head away, struggling to breathe. "Itsuki! This isn't right!"

"W...Why not?"

"We're related! Brother and sister! Twins! We...we can't be together like that..."

She WANTED to, no double about it. But she knew she couldn't, even if they both wanted to.

"Come on,"she whispered. "Let's go check out that room."

Chris:Sorry that was so short. I just wanted to make a quick point of how they both feel.

Mayuka:WHY'D YOU MAKE ME STOP HIM? YOU EVIL AUTHORESS!


	6. Author Note

Considering the substantial amount of time since my last update and my lack of free time to do much writing these days, the continuation of this and a few other of my stories is in question. It is still possible that I will continue and/or finish these stories, but at present, I am unable to make any promises concerning this. What I can tell you is that receiving feedback and/or requests of a continuation will greatly raise the chances of a continuation occuring. However, if I recieve no such thing, reflecting a disinterest in any readers, then the chances of a continuation will be greatly reduced.


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